One Night Only: Saturday, April 18, Serenitea Ballroom!

Photo by Brian Steffen

Hot, hip, artsy: John Romang and Joshua Comley are throwing down an underground art show with free food, booze, live music and no shortage of gorgeous art lovers. One Night Only starts at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 18, in the Serenitea Ballroom, 121 North 5th St. Music from DJ Urban Kobbb and Tony Foo Yong, and the wild festivity that usually inspires, will continue well into the wee hours of the morning, no doubt.

Both John and Joshua have bachelor of fine art degrees — John from Eastern Illinois University and Joshua from the Kansas City Art Institute. And both are totally cute. They'll have around 100 pieces on display, with price tags ranging from $20 to $300.

We caught up with these Picassos of P-Town the other day:

One Night Only? John, Joshua, why must you limit us to just one night? What if we want more?
John Romang (JR): I don't know. I think that the best part of an art show is the opening night. I figure let's just emphasize that night and get rid of the rest.

Joshua Comley (JC): Or come out and buy some art so we can do another show next year, or you can see us doing some exhibitions down at the LowerTown Art and Music Festival, May 23 and 24.

Monkey 79 by John Romang

That festival is going to rock! So you guys are pretty tight. You should merge your names, like Johnua. Or maybe Comang. How did you become such BFFs?
JR: We met through some 20/30s friends. We became friends through the common interest of art and artists. It's nice to meets people you can have a conversation with who actually know what you are talking about.

JC: It's good to have someone to "talk shop" with.

Bob by John Romang

How do you each describe your art?
JR: I am very Pop Art-driven. So I try to mix that with the artists I like today, like Shepard Fariey, and try to find a common middle ground with the art that becomes my own.

JC: Some people might call it "low brow." It's definitely not "high brow." So I guess I'll call it "NEW Brow!"

How do you describe one another's art?
JR: Comley's art has an element of design in it that I really enjoy seeing. He definitely has a "street art" (below) feel to most of his work. You'll notice that all of his work is done with spray paint and whatever he can find — even house paint. I think that's amazing.



JC: I enjoy Romang's work because of his influences. His work is kinda grassroots in the sense that he paints what he knows. For example, He's done a huge Mr. T in an effing suit! There is no thought that the value of his art is to serve some moral or didactic purpose. It is what it is, and I like that.

You both work full time, and you both have amazingly fun social lives. When do you have time to do your art?
JR: I make time for art. I like to work on weekends. I find myself more productive on a Saturday or Sunday morning than on a Wednesday night.

JC: I find combining the play with the studio time really helps.

Joshua Comley

So how does it work? Do you think of an image first and then paint it? Or do you feel the need to paint and the images just come to you?
JR: I usually try to think of something that I would like to have in my place. Then I run with that for a little series on the same theme.  

Also, I feed off of what I see other people do. When I see other people's work, it makes me want to start creating.

So if I stop by Comley's studio and see him working on something, usually I'll go home and feel the need to start making something. Maybe it will be a continuation of what I just saw him doing, or I think of how to push it another way.

JC: John's been in the fine art game a little longer than I have, so he has more of a sense of what he wants to accomplish. I am a little more "from the hip." It's more about the process for me than it is about the fruition of the piece. I'm still learning the medium of spray paint and how to control it.

I loved your Maiden Alley "Art, Friends & Musik" event last fall that you did with Paul Lorenz. Did you ever worry that you'd get going and the piece just wouldn't turn out?
JR: I was a little worried the first hour we were out there and the wind knocked the whole thing down. I was having concerns then, but once we secured it onto the wall, it was go time.

JC: I wasn't worried. We had a plan going in that whatever happened, just keep moving forward. If John didn't like something I did, he would go over it, no offense taken. And the same on my end. We just keep layering and let our artists' intuition take over on color and composition.

So tell us about the April 18 One Night Only show. What can we expect?
JR: A great time. We are doing this to have fun and show off our work. We want everybody to come ready to see art that this town usually doesn't see. Don't come expecting to see traditional art. Expect to see some very contemporary art.

And get ready to be active during the show. Last year, we did a paint wall where everyone could pick up a brush and leave their mark. This year we're doing a 3D paint sculpture.

This is not just an art show. It's an event!

And a bar! Right on!
JR: There's a bar at every art opening — usually wine. But we'll have beer, too. The proceeds benefit the International Myeloma Foundation.

JC: We've got help from Roof Brothers and food from Kirchhoff's.

Love them! And you've got some hot DJs on board!
JR: This will be DJUK's one-year anniversary as a DJ.

I know! He DJ'd your party last year!
JR: Yes, and this year we'll have Tony Foo Yong, too. We're pretty excited about getting some fun and different music going on.

JC: We really couldn't have done this show without the help of Erin at Serenitea for giving us her ballroom, Jonathan at the Canvas Room (we get our paint there) and ZebraGraphics jumped in with some awesome printing. We also appreciate Allison of Occasions Unlimited — she knows how to put things together within the ballroom space. And Brian Steffen took some great publicity photos of us.

JR: And iList Paducah!
JC: And iList Paducah for helping us get the word out.

Right on! Speaking of iList Paducah, you know we take a healthy interest in everyone's love life. John Romang, you've been an iDate of the Week. It must work!
JR: I can't complain! You can take me off your list of available iDates now.

And Joshua Comley, Geeze Louise. Your gal is just gorgeous.
JC: Yes I'm in love with a beautiful, loving and supportive girlfriend, Andrea Ivey (right), who influences me and helps to guide me every day.

So do you guys think Paducah a good place for artists?
JR: I think so. When you meet a lot of the artists here, they are from all over the U.S. It's good to have outside opinion about what you are doing. I really enjoy Second Saturdays in LowerTown, so I can go around and chat with some of the artists about what they are doing and what I am doing. I get great feedback.

JC: I am very proud of Paducah and the way people come together to help the arts. We look forward to putting on one hell of a show!

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